Good news for the thrifty this morning: The Samsung NX3000 compact system camera has just debuted, offering a combination of features from the NX300 and NX Mini at a very affordable pricetag.

The NX3000 takes over from last year's NX2000, and aims to pair the affordability of the NX Mini with the much larger sensor size of an NX-mount camera. So long as compact size and performance aren't your primary concerns, it offers you a chance to save some hard-earned cash.

The 20.3-megapixel Samsung NX3000 is just a little smaller and a fair bit lighter than the NX300, yet boasts the same sensor size, resolution, and sensitivity range as that camera. It does, however, forgo the NX300's hybrid autofocus, and trails it somewhat in terms of burst performance. There are cost-savings in other areas, too: The NX3000 shares the same cellphone-like MicroSD storage slot and slimline battery pack as the NX Mini, and also has a similar three-inch, tilting LCD monitor. And saving even more, it forgoes the touch-sensitive overlay offered by both siblings.

However, it still gives you the company's NX lens mount and a roomy APS-C imager, not to mention a newer version of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom than that provided with the NX300, which still ships with last year's release. And it will be the first NX-mount model to ship with the company's 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS power zoom lens as a kit optic (at least, in one of the bundles as mentioned below), good news for video shooters!

The Samsung NX3000 will be available in the same three body color choices as the NX300: black, brown, or white. There will be two kits offered, the first has the NX3000 bundled with the 16-50mm OIS Power Zoom + the SEF-8 Flash for US$529, and the second has the NX3000 bundled with the 20-50mm lens + the SEF-8 Flash for US$479, with availability sometime this June.